Who are gegants and capgrossos and why do they have them in Catalonia? 

Residents of Barcelona (and also the whole Catalonia) love all sorts of things parties, celebrations, holidays and other suitable events for rejoicing. 


King James I of Aragon and his wife Jolanda as the main Barcelona giants

Every village, town and city celebrates its patron saint once a year, and during these celebrations you will always come across giants or capgrossos. What exactly is it? 

Catalan giants: gegants and capgrossos

Gegants are simply and simply giants. Giant mannequins of people, animals and other creatures in larger than life size made of paper mache. These giants are usually part of parades, walk through the city together with other people or have separate performances as part of celebrations. 

Gegants during the La Merce festival
Passage of gegants during the La Merce festival in Barcelona

You can't miss these mannequins from a distance and very often they get stuck in the viewfinder of photographers. 

A carrier is hidden in each mannequin, which has the honor of carrying the given giant throughout the procession. 

There is a different meaning and symbolism behind each of the mannequins, some resemble historical figures, the goal of others is simply to entertain the audience. 

About production giants are mostly taken care of individually urban districts, neighborhoods or interest groups for which this is a great opportunity to build a local community, have fun and get to know each other. 

Capgrossos, mannequins with giant heads
Capgrossos, mannequins with giant heads

In addition to gegants, you can also come across the so-called during the celebrations capgrossos, which are mannequins with giant heads. Unlike gegants, they sometimes look quite scary. 

Video: Parade of gegants and capgrossos during the La Mercé festival in Barcelona

When and where can you see gegants and capgrossos?

When visiting Barcelona, ​​you can giants i capgrossos definitely come across during the celebrations of the patron saint of the city, La Mercé festival, which takes place regularly at the end of September. However, from my experience, no major holiday or celebration in the city is complete without them. Look at the calendar, if by chance something is not happening while you are in Barcelona. 

Another option is to go from Barcelona to neighboring towns and villages. Favorites are needed Giants of Cervera, i.e. the traditional parade of giants also held in September as part of the celebrations Cervera Fair in the city of Cervera (map). You can get here in about an hour by car (view rental offices) or by direct ALSA bus from the station Barcelona Nord in about an hour and a half. 

Gegants at the La Mercé festival in Barcelona
Gegants at the La Mercé festival in Barcelona

Do you know that they have other interesting customs and traditions in Catalonia? For example human towers castells or correfoc, running with fire. 

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